January 29, 2013

One of my favorite appetizers is veggie pizza. If you like veggies and dip then you will love this. It is super easy and you can customize it with any veggies you like! In my book this is a healthy appetizer because it does have raw veggies…. right? I like to take this as a dish-to-pass because otherwise I could seriously sit and eat the whole darn thing myself! This would be the perfect game day finger food!

Ingredients:

2 rolls of refrigerated cresenct rolls

8oz package of cream cheese – softened

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 packet of ranch dressing powder (salad dressing isle)

Raw veggies – I use broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and chives

Directions:

Roll out the two crescent roll packages onto a greased cookie sheet. Do not tear them along the perforated lines – keep them in one piece. Use your fingers to press them out on the pan. Cook according to package directions. Let cool.

Once the crescent roll ‘crust’ is completely cool mix the cream cheese, sour cream and ranch dressing powder together in a bowl. Spread across the crust.

Sprinkle the pizza with the shredded cheddar and veggies.

Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

I personally like to make the crust the day before and then add the toppings right before party time!

Do you have any big plans for the big game? I was watching the news and it said some crazy amount of Americans will buy new TVs to watch the game on. Will you be one of those people?

January 27, 2013

Last week I was introduced to a website that I can’t wait to share with you! It is an online craft store site called Consumer Crafts – my oh my where has it been hiding all my crafty life? This site is like gold to me because the nearest craft store is 10 minutes away and if they don’t have what I am looking for (which they usually don’t) the next nearest is 30 minutes. Needless to say with a newborn in tow and the rising price of gas I haven’t been doing too many craft store trips. Now I don’t have an excuse for being low on supplies – this site is filled with all sorts of supplies (and at really good prices to boot!)

Right now Consumer Crafts is having a Back to Basics sale that you don’t want to miss! I was able to stock up on glue sticks, E6000, paper mache letters and all sorts of items for Easter crafts while sitting at my desk with baby snug in her wrap. See baby Delilah’s thoughts below…

Maybe one of the best parts is that less than 24 hours after placing my order I got an email that my order had shipped! Talk about service!? I was totally impressed. Plus – for $50 I was able to order a hole bunch of stuff!

This isn’t even half of what was in my ‘cart’ at checkout! I got pom poms, magnets, cork pads, styrofoam eggs and more! FOR $50!

I can’t wait to get my box of goodies this week – I plan to use my supplies to start my craft closet redo and quite a few Easter crafts.

I wrote this post as part of a campaign with Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

January 25, 2013

This is a man pleasing, woman loving, four ingredient, couldn’t get any easier crock pot chicken and dumpling recipe.

I use this recipe to make Chicken and Dumplings at least once a month and nobody complains. The kids love it and my husband even suggests I make it when I ask him for dinner ideas. I made this when we had my parents over for dinner one night and now my mom makes it at her house quite often too. One time when my husband had a group of friends over I had a batch of this in the crock pot and they inhaled it – now when they come over they ask when I am making it again. This is a woman loving recipe because it seriously takes fives minutes to put this stuff together and then you let your crock pot do the rest! It sticks to your sides and is great for a cold fall or winter night (although I make it all year round because it is just THAT good (and EASY!))

Ingredients:

6 boneless/skinless Chicken Breasts (frozen is fine)

2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup

4 tablespoons of butter

Can of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup of water (okay 5 ingredients if you count water)

Directions:

In a crock pot – place chicken breasts in the bottom and then pour cream of chicken soup over the top. Cut butter into slices and scatter over the top. Add 1/2 a cup of water and cook on high 4-5 hours or low 5-6. You may need to adjust the timing depending on your crock pot. Mine seems to cook on the hot side. 30 minutes before you are ready to eat shred the chicken and then open the biscuits and tear them into pieces and put into the mixture. Give it a stir and let it cook for 30-35 minutes on high. Done!

January 23, 2013

I will start with the baby – I wanted to give you an update on baby Delilah. She is 10 weeks old now and things are finally starting to fall into a routine. A routine that includes poppy diapers, coos and cries, late night feedings, weekend couch snuggles and a bit of craziness too.

After we got her home she wasn’t gaining weight like she should be so we had to go to the pediatrician for weight checks once a week. Finally she started gaining weight and we were able to stop going. At her last appointment (2 weeks ago) she weighed in at 9lbs 6oz and she has FINALLY started wearing 3 month clothing. This is such a difference from my boys who topped the charts in weight and were both wearing 18-24 month sizes at one year old. My oldest, Wyatt, weighed 9lbs 7oz at birth!

As far as her personality – she is such a happy baby as long as she is fed and someone is holding her. Can you say spoiled? No matter how sound she is sleeping or how happy she is, she will start crying within five minutes of me putting her down. When my husband is at work I can barely get dinner on the table for the boys and I because she is in hysterics. My husband asked me this morning, ‘How does it feel to be that needed?’ I do love that she needs me, but it would be nice to go to the bathroom by myself every once in a while – LOL. I must admit I am totally in love with this little girl and after all that we went through, the miscarriage and spending a week with her in the NICU, I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else but holding her in my arms.

I did invest in a Moby wrap and that has seemed to help me get things done while still snuggling my cutie.

Now onto the ‘job’ part. I wanted to let my readers know that I have finally decided to put my full focus on my blog and online shop. I have done a few sponsored product posts in the past few months and you will continue to see them, but I will pick them wisely. I don’t want to write about things that are not pertinent to my blog categories or that I don’t think you will gain knowledge from. I have always been hesitant about monetizing my blog, but I hope you understand that in order for me to help bring in an income for my family AND have a budget for craft supplies it must be done. To be honest I really have loved all the brands I have worked with this far and would recommend them no matter what. I plan to keep it that way!

As far as my online shop, I have been working on new items almost daily. I am working on a line of custom textiles which will include onesies, tees, and tote bags. We are currently selling wholesale to eight salons in the United States and even one in ITALY! This past weekend Poofy Cheeks hair ties were included in VIP gift bags at the Sundance Film Festival and a few days ago Delilah and I did a photo shoot for new items that are headed to the shop over the next week. Want a peek?

Some of the items are already in the shop so I wanted to give all of my blog readers a change to use a 30% off coupon.

January 22, 2013

I don’t go crazy with Valentine’s Day décor like I do with Halloween and Christmas, but I still like to change up a few things. This year I combined items I made last year with a new wreath I whipped up and a paper heart garland. I also shopped my house for a few other red and pink items.

To make the wreath I just wrapped a flat wreath form in white yarn and then took scroll frame and painted it pink then hot glued pink and red buttons onto it. I hot glued a piece of burlap to the back of the frame and a paper heart inside. I used a bit of twine and more paper hearts to hang through the middle. The wreath cost me nothing – it was made with items I had here in my craft supply arsenal.

To see how to create the canvases or Cupid’s Valentine click the links below.